Fade to Black (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
WikiProject Music or the Music Portal may be able to help recruit one.
If a more appropriate WikiProject or portal exists, please adjust this template accordingly.

"Fade to Black"

Cover of Ride the Lightning
Song by Metallica
from the album Ride the Lightning
Released	November 16, 1984
Recorded	Sweet Silence Studios Copenhagen, Denmark, 1984
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	6:59
Label	Elektra Records
Producer(s)	Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen , Mark Whitaker
Ride the Lightning track listing
"Fight Fire with Fire" "Ride the Lightning" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "Fade to Black" "Trapped Under Ice" "Escape" "Creeping Death" "The Call of Ktulu"

"Fade To Black" is a song by heavy metal band Metallica. The song was recorded for their second album, Ride the Lightning (1984). Some people consider the lyrical theme to be about a person who has decided to commit suicide; others do not share this view. It was written after almost all of their equipment, including a very rare amplifier, given to singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield by his mother just before she died, was stolen in Boston, MA, following a gig at the Channel Club on 14th January 1984. This event forced Metallica to borrow equipment from fellow tour band and friends, Anthrax, for the remainder of the tour.

It was the first Ballad that Metallica released. It begins with an acoustic guitar introduction and becomes progressively heavier as the song goes on.

At the time, some of the more extreme elements of fans deemed the song a "sell out" as it was such a departure from Metallica's then normal style, but since its release, "Fade To Black" has been a fan favorite and a fixture in Metallica's live performances. It was also the last song that Metallica performed live with Jason Newsted. Jason's last gig was at the VH1 Music Awards on November 30, 2000. it was one of Newsted's favorite Metallica songs, and was said to be of great sentimental value to him, although it had been written before he had joined the band.

The song is credited to Hetfield / Ulrich / Burton / Hammett.

The song's title is never mentioned in the lyrics. However, the song's title is mentioned in the track The Memory Remains off the bands 1997 album, ReLoad.

The song has been covered by Disturbed on their live album Music As A Weapon II but without the heavier second half of the song. It has also been covered by Apoptygma Berzerk on their studio album Welcome to Earth. It has also been covered by the power metal band Sonata Arctica.